Later that night, after everyone went home, Twilight and her friends decided to settle in for the night. While Applejack and Pinkie Pie headed off to the library and Rainbow and Fluttershy departed for the science lab, Twilight plopped herself on one of two mattresses that Discord had conjured up for them before leaving for his home dimension. While Rarity and Spike lay down on the one immediately next to hers, Twilight lay awake, wondering, until a familiar voice snapped her out of her misery.
“Hey,” Sunset said to her. “Everything okay?”
Twilight paused. “Yeah, it’s okay,” she lied. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you haven’t been yourself ever since you came here,” Sunset said. “I want to know if there’s anything that’s bothering you.”
“Everything’s fine,” Twilight lied again. “Nothing has been bothering me.”
Sunset frowned deeply. “We’ll see about that,” she said at last. She grabbed Twilight’s arm and her eyes began to glow white. At last, she let go of her arm and faced her with a serious look. “Was it that bad?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, feigning ignorance, though deep down, she knew exactly what Sunset was talking about.
“The wedding,” Sunset said, very matter-of-factly.
Twilight blinked. “How did you know?”
Sunset took out the geode she had acquired at Camp Everfree. “See this?” Twilight nodded. “I got this a few weeks ago. This geode allows me to access someone’s thoughts and memories.” Twilight shuddered. If this was the case, then whatever secrets she or anybody else Sunset came into contact with had were not really safe anymore.
“Promise you won’t go around using this on anyone whenever you feel like?” she asked Sunset, concerned.
“I promise on Celestia’s name,” Sunset replied. “Now, what was it about the wedding that made you so hurt and angry?”
Twilight sighed. She was hoping that this topic wouldn’t be discussed. “All right, here’s what happened,” she started. And so she told Sunset everything that had gone down at the wedding of her brother and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, from how the impostor Chrysalis impersonated Cadence; to how no one would listen to how she, Twilight, had tried to warn everypony about the impostor. She also took care to mention how her friends threw her under the cart for somepony they barely met, with her brother and mentor following suit, and how she could have died of starvation and dehydration when the impostor sent her underground and how it was only through sheer luck that she managed to escape. By the end of it, Sunset was in awe, and not in a favorable context.
“I’m glad I wasn’t around when that happened,” she said at last. “What in Equestria was Celestia even thinking?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight grumbled. “I’m starting to think that maybe she doesn’t care about me or anypony else as much as she lets on.”
Sunset looked at her in sympathy. “Would it help if I told you that you aren’t the only one who has faced something like this?” she said at last.
Twilight blinked. “Seriously?”
“Uh-huh,” Sunset replied sadly. “After the Battle of the Bands, someone named Anon-a-Miss started spreading nasty rumors about the students. Naturally, people assumed that I was the one behind it, and everyone turned on me, even our friends at Canterlot High.”
Twilight blinked, hardly believing this. “Harsh,” was all she could manage to say.
“Yeah,” Sunset sighed. “Eventually, the whole thing cleared up when Anon-a-Miss was revealed to be three girls named Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, who leaked the secrets out of pure spite. They got punished very badly and the gang was brought back together again, but sometimes, I still feel annoyed and mad that the others never tried to hear my side of the story.”
“I feel ya,” Twilight yawned.
“Have you talked to your friends about what you’re feeling?” Sunset asked.
“Not really,” Twilight admitted. “I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Plus, I figured that the whole thing would resolve itself eventually.”
“Well, you better get it off your chest soon,” Sunset advised her. “Otherwise, it might only make things worse.”
“I’ll . . . see what I can do,” Twilight decided.
Sunset nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. By the way, you wouldn’t mind helping someone else learn how to be a good friend, would you? I talked to her about you and she’s looking forward to learning.”
Twilight paused. “Who’s the person in question?”
“That girl we met in the mall Saturday,” Sunset answered. “Chloe.”
Twilight paused again to consider. At last, she said, “I’ll have to think about it. Not only would I have to learn more about her situation, but I’ll need to forget about what happened to me.” She yawned, then added, “Now, can we please not discuss this? I have to go to sleep. We have a lot of things to do during the day tomorrow.” This was a lie; the truth was, she was slipping back into her state of denial from when she still suspected Discord of being up to no good, and she knew it.
“Good night,” Sunset said reluctantly to Twilight, then rolled over in the bed and went to sleep. Twilight didn’t say anything. She lay awake in bed that night, wondering what consequences this event would have for her friendship with the others.
Meanwhile, Alya was up late, chatting with Marinette and Adrien about her findings on Pinkie Pie and still nursing the wasp stings and several other injuries that she had sustained in her research.
“Did you find anything?” Marinette asked her friend, trying not to laugh at her injuries.
“Nothing conclusive so far,” Alya admitted. “But sooner or later, she’ll reveal the source of her oddities and quirks, and I’m gonna be there when she does.”
“As long as you don’t get any more injuries,” Adrien chuckled slightly over the phone camera. “We’d hate for something unfortunate to happen.”
“Trust me, Adrien,” Alya assured him, “all those were mere coincidences. Nothing will stop me from learning her secrets.”
“Good luck with that,” Marinette answered.
“You need any assistance with that?” Adrien asked.
“Thanks, Adrien, but I don’t think I’ll be needing that,” Alya smiled at him. “I’ll let you know what I find about her.”
“As long as you don’t get any sticky situations,” Marinette chuckled. “We’d hate for something awful to happen to you.”
“Trust me,” Alya assured her, “that’s not gonna happen.”
“I gotta go,” Marinette informed her. “I’m supposed to be asleep, and I’m sure that’s the case with Adrien as well.” And with that, Adrien turned off his phone and went to bed.
“Have fun,” Alya waved at her, wishing her goodnight. “I’ll let you know my results of my observations.” And with that,
Marinette disconnected her camera and went to bed. Alya turned over in her bed, a look of determination on her face as she closed her eyes.
You better watch out, Pinkie Pie. I’m going to find out exactly how you keep defying the laws of logic, and I won’t stop until I do so.
The next day, after school, while the rest of the students milled around looking for people to take to the dance and things to do, Alya quietly slipped behind Pinkie and followed her. She was determined to find out exactly the source of her subject’s quirks.
At last, after ten minutes, Pinkie stopped by in the park and sat down on a bench, seemingly unaware of the fact that Alya had taken care to hide herself behind a tree. As soon as she, Alya, was settled, she noticed that Pinkie’s ears had suddenly started flopping. She took out her camera and quietly snapped a photo of the incident, then examined it. What did it mean?
Just then, out of nowhere, a cyclist pedaled by and rode into a large puddle of rainwater, splashing her and taking her by surprise. Alya examined herself in disgust; she would need to take a bath when she went home. She turned back to Pinkie Pie, who was scratching her nose furiously. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what on this meant, not noticing that a swarm of wasps was heading her way. By the time she had taken notice of this, it was too late; the wasps had stung her again. It took all of her willpower not to let out a scream of pain, and she dropped the phone, nursing her wasp stings. Surely these had to be coincidences, right?
Just then, Pinkie’s hair stood up on end, and Alya peered in for a closer look. At that moment, something plopped onto her head. Wondering what it was this time, she gingerly placed the arm that hadn’t been stung onto her hair and felt something fluffy. No doubt about it; it was a baby bird. The bird flew down to her and tweeted so angrily at her that she swore that if it had been given a voice, at least a few of its words would have been very foul language. At last, after it was done “ranting”, it flew back up to its nest. Alya sighed; she was still no closer to uncovering the source of Pinkie’s oddities than she was yesterday.
Just then, the girls named Applejack and Sunset Shimmer entered the park from the other entrance, and Alya dove into a bush to conceal herself, fearing that if they saw her, then her cover would be blown.
“Hey Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said. “Whatcha doing?”
“Oh, just letting Alya secretly follow me without me knowing,” Pinkie Pie responded.
“Wait a second,” Alya started, emerging from the bush with her insect bites and various other injuries, now directing an intensely annoyed expression at Pinkie Pie. “You mean you knew what I was doing? Well then why didn’t you say so?”
“Because, silly, I didn’t want to spoil the secret,” Pinkie Pie responded, flashing her a cute smile. Alya, however, was not amused; in fact, if anything, she was rather enraged. That meant that she had sustained all those injuries for nothing.
“You mean,” she started, clenching her fists, “that these observations have been for nothing? That all the evidence I’ve been trying to gather since yesterday was utterly worthless?”
“Uh, sugarcube,” Applejack smiled weakly, “ah’m afraid that none o’ us are quite gettin’ what you’re sayin’.”
Alya sighed. There was no longer any point. “Fine. It’s time I told you girls everything. I’ve been trying to find out facts on how your friend keeps defying logic ever since she . . . ahem, made a scene at school yesterday. And now, all I have to show for it is this.” She motioned toward her dirty appearance and the wasp bites she had sustained. Pinkie Pie and Applejack giggled a little.
“Oh, silly, that was my Pinkie Sense acting,” Pinkie Pie giggled.
Alya looked at her in confusion. “What the heck’s a ‘Pinkie Sense’?” she asked.
“Basically, I get these little tiny knickly feelings and they mean different things,” Pinkie Pie explained. “For example, if my ears start flopping, it means that I need to get a bath ready. An itchy nose means ‘look out for insects’.”
“And if your hair stands on end?” Alya asked in a deadpan manner.
“It means look out for falling objects,” Pinkie answered cheerfully.
Alya was suddenly enraged. She rose up into the air and exploded, her hair suddenly becoming fiery. “But it doesn’t make any sense!” she roared.
The three girls stood before her, in awe of the sight that their eyes were beholding.
“Ah don’ mean to discourage yah, sugarcube,” Applejack said, “but sometimes, we jus’ gotta accept that there are things yah jus’ can’ explain, but tha’ don’t make ‘em any less real. It’s just whether yah choose to believe in them or not. Besides, those o’ us who have been aroun’ Pinkie a long time have learned to trust her Pinkie Sense.”
Alya sighed. This was officially the end of her search. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I concede defeat. I officially have to accept that you’re just being Pinkie Pie.”
“Ah’m sorry yah couldn’t find what you was lookin’ for,” Applejack said. “Ah really am.”
“How about you wash yourself off and get some bandages?” Sunset said to Alya, motioning toward her overall appearance. “After all, you really look like you been through a bug-infested mud hole.” Applejack turned to look at her, confused. “Er, so to speak,” Sunset added.
“If yah say so,” Applejack shrugged. “You comin’ with us, Sunset?”
“That’s okay,” Sunset said. “I’m gonna wait here for Rainbow Dash and Kim. They told me that they were gonna have a race and I want to find out who won.”
“Eh, suit yourself,” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Let’s go, Muddy.” She and Applejack turned and accompanied Alya back to her house.
Sunset sat down on the park bench, took out her friendship journal, and began to doodle in it, waiting for Kim and Rainbow Dash to arrive. About an hour later, both of them entered the park, having completed their race. Kim strutted victoriously, followed by a sulking Rainbow Dash.
“So?” Sunset asked. “How did the race between you two go?”
“I lost,” Rainbow Dash said in a defeated tone. “Kim practically creamed me and left me in the dust.”
“Not surprising though, is it?” Sunset said to her, obviously amused. “It’s not you like ever ran on two legs before.”
“I still don’t get it though,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “I’m the fastest athlete in all of Equestria! How did I lose to him?” She motioned to Kim, who was smirking at her. She shot back an annoyed expression.
Sunset chuckled. “Rainbow Dash, if there’s one thing I learned in all my years here in the human world, it’s that things work differently in here than they do back in Equestria,” she said. “Kim won purely because he had more experience out on the track. You, on the other hand? You’re still trying to adjust to your human body, and you’ve spent less than 24 hours preparing. Now, if there was a gem that allowed you to move at super speed, that would be a different story.”
“But there isn’t, is there?” Kim added, still smirking at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus groaned and buried her face in her hands. There was no way she would ever live this down.
“It’s not fair,” she moaned.
Kim smirked. “One of these days, that attitude is gonna bite you back hard,” he said. “You gotta accept that sometimes, you
have to lose.”
Rainbow smiled back at him, amused. “Much like your pride and poor sportsmanship might end up becoming your undoing?” She punched him in the arm playfully.
“Hey! No fair!” Kim replied teasingly, punching her back with just as much playfulness. Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Race you back to the school?” Kim challenged her.
“It’s on!” Rainbow Dash smirked. She turned to Sunset. “Wanna come back with us?”
“In a while,” Sunset said. “I have to make a phone call.”
“’Kay,” Kim said to her. “Maybe we’ll see you later, then.” He turned to face Rainbow Dash, getting ready to race her again. “See if you can redeem yourself this time!”
“I accept your challenge,” Rainbow smirked again. “GO!” And with that, both of them took off again, speeding into the afternoon.
Sunset took out her phone and punched in some numbers. The phone on the other end began to ring, and eventually, someone picked up on the other end.
“Hey, Chloe. It’s me, Sunset. If you don’t mind, can I come over to your place to hang out?”
On a small cliff that overlooked the rest of the city, in a small wooden cabin, a dark figure peered out the window and gazed at the city. There was someone in great emotional distress; he knew this because all those months of being bonded with the Miraculous had imparted some of its abilities to him. Even though he no longer bore the jewel, he could still taste the young girl’s agony like a beautifully prepared feast that was waiting for him. He curled his lips up into a malicious grin. Soon, it would be time for him to make his move, reclaim what was rightfully his, and exact his revenge on those meddlesome brats and the entire town for what they did to him.
And so, he lurked back into the shadows, waiting for the right time to come.